Q] Welcome back to Fantasy Book Critic, Tim. Since the last time I interviewed you, you have branched out in terms of your books as well as in regards to your skills. How do you look upon this growth?TM: Thanks, Mihir. Glad to be back.

I think my progression has a lot to do with my influences not being confined to a single genre as well as the evolving publishing world. Unlike a lot of “traditional” authors, I don’t feel as though I need to brand myself with a singular style. Able to self-publish without concern for genre, I simply write the stories that come to my head, be it fantasy or horror, novel or short story. I’m not bound to a publisher that mandates what I write or has spent money creating an identity.

As far as my skills go, the idea is to get better every single time I sit down at the keyboard. It’s all about growth. Doing something different with every story, there’s a lot of room for me to explore new ideas and ways to put them down.

Q] Please tell us about your new release Witch Bane, beginning from its inception to its eventual form.TM:Witch Bane has been sitting around for a couple years now. Simple in concept, it was my first real attempt at writing fantasy less steeped in the elements of horror. It’s definitely more in the sword and sorcery/adventure vein of the books I grew up on: Elric, John Carter, etc. It’s small scale but written to be entertaining and fast.

I’d been submitting it to numerous agents and publishers since its completion, but for every new opportunity that arose, the book seemed to slip through the cracks. I finally decided just to release it myself.

Q] With this book, you make a return to fantasy after the Dawn of War trilogy. How would you say this book is different from that trilogy?TM:Witch Bane was actually written before any of the Blood War books. Its scope is much smaller, the story a tiny fragment of the world rather than the epic concepts of the Blood War books. Witch Bane is more focused on story with far fewer points of view and called down to be more personal.

Q] A curious thing about your book’s protagonists is that almost all of them have had troubles in relation to their family (parents, children or spouses who are missing murdered, dead or estranged). These specific sets of troubles often power the story and the protagonists. What do you feel about this pattern?TM: I think that idea is ingrained in who I am. My parents got divorced early in my life and I spent some time between them and the families that formed after the fact. There’s always been a sense of division in my life and my studies of Sociology have only built upon those foundations.

For me, the world isn’t about happily ever after, it’s about as happy as can be. Life is difficult, it’s fractured and short and violent and confusing, and a lot of that stems from our relationships with our families. I feel it’s only natural to write about the schism I see and have experienced.

Q] A series of yours that I’m enthralled by is the Demon Squad series. After the fourth book’s incredible climax, I have to ask when is DS 5 getting released?TM: Thanks. I’m planning on releasing DS5: Beyond the Veil in late February or March of 2013. I’m plotting the book now and don’t expect it to take too long to write.

Q] What’s next for you in 2013, can you tell us about your upcoming projects?TM: I’ve a number of things going on right now, and who knows what else will pop up. I’ve a story in an Angelic Knight Press anthology, No Place Like Home, coming out in January. I’ve also managed to convince the great people of Triumph Over Tragedy(R.T Kaelin and Sarah Chorn) to include one of my stories in their anthology. There are a ton of amazing authors in there, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Michael J Sullivan, and Mark Lawrence, just to name a few, and all the proceeds go to the American Red Cross for Hurricane Sandy relief.